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Posts tagged ‘Saltaire’

When tasting beer I’ve made myself I find it difficult to have the same detachment that I do when tasting that made by other people. And rather than being a case of rose-tinted glasses, of failing to find fault in your own work, if anything it’s the opposite. There’s a streak of perfectionism in there, for sure, but it is more than that. I can’t make up my mind if it is just being overly critical to compensate the risk of self-congratulation, or if it is just a product of being to close to the whole thing. I know that when I make a beer I tend to have a perception beforehand of what it will be like, the target I’m aiming for. Sometimes that target is missed, not always by a long way, but I end up with something that doesn’t match the expectation, and maybe that’s the problem. Rather than considering a sample on its own merits or at least to a fairly broad expectation of a style, as you would any other beer, maybe the problem is comparing to a perception of precisely what it was meant to be.

It doesn’t help when my own views on which beers I’ve made have been good and which haven’t aren’t echoed by other people – there are beers I’ve been quite unhappy with that have gone down a storm, and others that have been just what I wanted them to be that have been less popular. It all adds to the sense of doubt in my ability to critically consider my own beer – am I being unfair? Are others just being polite? Do I even know what I’m talking about??

I had a very early sample of my chilli stout yesterday. This has been brewed, at least in part, for the Northern Craft Brewers competition in Saltaire. It was the second attempt due to problems with the first batch – some modifications were made and this attempt went much better. OK, it has only been in the bottle for just over a week so it is still young. It has a couple more weeks to properly condition before it gets to Saltaire, but already the carbonation was getting there so any concerns I had about that aspect can probably be put to one side. Aroma? Hmmm. Not convinced. Something seems not right to me, or then again does it, I’m just not sure. I pass it to Lisa. “Why did you screw your face up?” is her first question. It smells great apparently. I’m still unconvinced. A taste. Again, not sure. Slightly oxidised perhaps? I hope not, Or am I trying to find faults where there are none?

Certainly it’s drier than I expected. Rather than a full-bodied, slightly sweet malty chocolate base it is slightly thinner, more subtly chocolate. It might even be all the better for it. But the chilli seems absent. Another sip – larger this time. The flavours are reinforced but then, too, suddenly there it is. Not in your face, but a gentle warming at the back of the throat. The verdict, again, from the other end of the sofa is all positive, but I’m still not convinced. It isn’t entirely the way I’d envisaged it turning out, but much of that is “different” not “wrong” – and all part of the learning experience. The chilli doesn’t dominate, just as I’d hoped, but there is a risk that it is lost altogether in early sips. Might that cause it to give the wrong impression in a competition tasting? Hopefully not, the flavour should come through in time to make an impression. So, there’s just that issue of whether there is something wrong with the overall taste, or if it is just me being harsh. I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks…

It’s brewday today. Not as frequent an occurrence as I’d like at the moment. But I’m on a mission, so the time had to be found. Actually I’m not even brewing what I had originally got in mind for today. I should be making an IPA with all English hops for the May meeting of the Midlands Craft Brewers, a motley collection of amateur brewers with which I associate. But when I last brewed a few weeks ago, well let’s just say it all went a bit pear-shaped. The end result being that I haven’t ended up with the beer I wanted – quite literally in that the fermentation stopped about half-way through and nothing I tried could get it to do more. But also in that tasting that half-finished beer, I realised that I hadn’t really achieved the flavours I set out to. So today I’m having another go.

There’s a slight sense of urgency, because this beer is for entering into a competition – the Northern Craft Brewers annual competition held at Saltaire Brewery. This is probably the last chance I’ll have to make something in time to enter. The theme this year is to brew something with an “extra ingredient” – something aside from the usual malt and hops. I’m going for a stout, flavoured with chocolate and chilli. There’s also some orange peel in there for added effect. Last time I tried it there wasn’t enough of any of those flavours, and too much bitterness up front – so this time I’m looking at upping the game a little. I’m aiming for more of a milk stout base, with lactose adding some sweetness, compared to my previous effort, and as well as adding cocoa nibs and orange peel late in the boil I’ll be looking to add extra once primary fermentation is done along with the chilli which will be in the form of extract to give me an element of control over the strength.

So, the mash is on, the pH is checked (higher than the target but within the acceptable range) and there’s a myriad of jobs waiting for me. Best get cracking.